LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND – Scala is a computer language designed by EPFL professor Martin Odersky, and while it may sound obscure if this is not your field, think again: Odersky just finished teaching the first-ever “Mooc” course, part of EPFL’s fall term, where he had 53,000 students. Many were working on getting their certification, and 9,700 […]

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Better nutrition for the most at-risk patients needing tube-feeding (EN, or enteral nutrition) in intensive care in hospitals plays a key role in avoiding what can be deadly infections, Swiss medical researchers have shown. Work published Thursday 6 December in the British medical journal Lancet and online 3 December, by a research […]

LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND – Nestlé 2 November inaugurated its new research centre at EPFL, the federal polytechnic institute in Lausanne. The Nestlé Institute of Health Sciences “is developing the scientific basis for personalised nutrition in the areas of gastrointestinal health, metabolic health, and brain health,” the company said in a statement. “Ultimately, the goal of this […]

LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND – Professor Jacques Fellay at one of EPFL’s life sciences laboratories has been awarded the prestigious 2012 Swiss National Latsis Prize for his work in determining that genetic profiles are a key to avoiding undesirable side effects in patients given HIV drug treatments. The Swiss National Science Foundation, in announcing the award, says […]

Glaciers, as they melt, are creating new lakes in the Swiss Alps BERN / LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND – The heart-rending story of the disappearing Alpine glaciers, with some estimates saying they will be gone by the end of this century, may be hiding a promise that will help Switzerland as it moves away from nuclear energy. […]

LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND – The sticky point about magnets is that they aren’t all magnetic, it turns out. An EPFL research team working under Henrik Ronnow has found a magnet that’s not magnetized, with implications for hard disk technology. The basic research findings by the Lausanne team could help hard disk developers, who are working with […]

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Switzerland saw a sharp drop in the number of animals used for experiments in 2011, down 13 percent from a year earlier, federal statistics show. Switzerland used some 2 million animals for medical and cosmetic experiments in the early 1980s; the number has fallen to under 700,000 in 2011, with far tighter […]

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – The dots on the neurology map are growing denser and the picture clearer in the Lake Geneva region as three of its main universities combine forces to create a world-class neurology research centre. The universities of Geneva and Lausanne and federal research institute EPFL are now part of the new Neuropolis project, […]

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Scientists at the University of Edinburgh have identified a gene responsible for the production of healthy sperm which may cause temporary infertility if obstructed, making it possible to eventually develop a male pill. The gene, called Katnal1, was discovered during experiments in infertility in mice, in which random modifications of the gene […]

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Fuchsia Dunlop, a favourite food writer, has just put together a wonderful article in the Financial Times about the impact of our cutlery on the way our food tastes. This is a must-read for flavour and aromas fans, and to whet your appetite, here’s part of it: “The sight of 15 adults […]